Dr. Donohue: Not all with MCI develop Alzheimer's

ANSWER: Mild cognitive impairment is many steps below dementia illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, and a few steps above the memory problems that happen to just about everyone your relative’s age. People with MCI function quite well. They carry on daily activities without great impairment. They’re able to reason, to have insight into what others say and to display the proper emotional reactions to life’s many difficulties. Memory isn’t what it used to be. MCI might make a person forget a medical or dental appointment or a phone conversation, or not remember the outcome of a sporting event in someone who is a sports aficionado.

Not every MCI patient is doomed to the dementia of Alzheimer’s disease. Around 5 percent of those diagnosed with it do progress to Alzheimer’s every year.